NEW LENOX – The Rev. John Merkelis has replaced disgraced former Providence Catholic High School President Richard McGrath.

McGrath resigned from his position as president of the New Lenox high school in December, amid allegations a student saw a photo of a naked youth on his cellphone, police said.

Merkelis was named acting president upon McGrath's abrupt departure. McGrath was the school's first and only president up until that time. A criminal investigation into the claim was closed, as the student was reluctant to speak with officers and police lacked probable cause to seize the phone.

A subsequent investigation was launched after claims by a former student, Robert Krankvich, now 36, that McGrath raped him while he was attending the school.

Krankvich’s allegations were made public earlier this month, after he sued Providence and the Augustinian order, to which McGrath belongs.

Merkelis started at Providence in 1988, as the director of pastoral ministry, according to an email from the school. He was made principal in 1994 and served in that capacity for five years. Merkelis left Providence in 1999 but returned five years later to be the school’s pastoral director.

“I am blessed by the opportunity to serve as the president of Providence, and am humbled by the love and support I have felt from the Providence family over the years,” Merkelis said in the email.  “I am grateful to God to continue such a beautiful ministry; I am now meeting current students who are the children of students I taught 25 years ago. Together with their families, we will proudly celebrate our 100th anniversary next year.”